Yaneff.com

“Cappiello did not create as many posters for his native country, Italy, as one would have assumed. But those he did are among his most noteworthy achievements. This one, for a magazine of ‘Music and Musicians,’ published by the famous music publishing and printing house of G. Ricordi in Milan, was, like all other such commissions, handled by Vercasson but printed in Italy. The face may be partially obscured, but the sincere concentration of the violinist is clearly shown in a cleverly conceived composition” (Cappiello/Rennert, p. 52). 

Leonetto Cappiello is the Father of the Modern Poster. He started his arts career as a caricature artist in 1896 illustrating for French journals like Le Rire, Le Cri de Paris, Le  Sourire, L’Assiette au Beurre, La Baionnette, Femina, and others. His early caricature style was seen to be influenced by Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, who was already the most famous artist of the time. 

"Cappiello developed a penchant for contagious exuberance and intoxicating overstatement, as well as the technique of utilizing strong, flat colors against dark backgrounds, Cappiello's posters shocked, surprised and moved the viewer; he arrested the attention of the passerby with incongruity, and as a result, effectively etched an image into their mind's eye. He created an entirely new advertising vocabulary and his posters can be said to be fantastic - in a completely literal sense." (Jack Rennert) 

"This is a selection from the very rare commemorative portfolio published by the renowned Italian printer Ricordi in 1914. The portfolio consisted of 70 lithographic plates (smaller versions) of Ricordi's greatest posters printed between 1895 and 1914. Many of the images in the series are so rare that they can be found today in no other format. In the 1870s, Ricordi opened an in-house lithography shop to promote its operas and sheet music business. Ricordi quickly became the leading lithographer in Italy and by 1895 was creating posters for other clients such as Campari, the Milan newspaper Corriere della Sera, and the Mele Department store of Naples. Under the tutelage of Adolfo Hohenstein, a brilliant stable of artists emerged at Ricordi.

Artists including Cappiello, Caldanzano, Dudovich, Laskoff, Metlicovitz and 
Mataloni brought Art Nouveau, known as Stile Liberty in Italy, to a world class level. Much like the famous Maitre de L'Affiche series created by Cheret in Paris, this portfolio celebrated the rise of the poster - which in Italy was almost single-handedly accomplished by Ricordi." (www.internationalposter.com)

ationalposter.com)